Naruto, instructed by Blacklight, delves deeper into his mind.
Not the hub that they use to commune, rather, the vast expanse that is the entirety of his existence; it is his mind.
His full conscious becomes enveloped by his projection within his mind that acts as himself whilst he visits the mindscape.
"Ugh," he groans as he first lays sight on what his mindscape had taken the form of. "Seriously? A sewer?"
Utilising water walking, Naruto treads carefully as to not get blasted by a whole load of water.
"At least it's clean and pure, and not actual sewage," Naruto mutters to himself. What do I do now?
Blacklight responds: "Wander around. See if you can find anything useful."
What kind of useful things? Naruto's face scrunches up, walking in one direction as he talks; the sewers seem endless.
"Stuff like the Energy Hub," the dragon replies matter-of-factly.
The what? Naruto incredulously inquires, his interest piqued.
"What I call 'the place where you can see your chakra network'," Blacklight states, again, in a matter-of-factly tone.
And this is where per se? Naruto inquires, alluding to his dilemma of where everything is located within his mindscape.
"It differs. Now, go!" Blacklight replies in a firm tone, before shutting off the connection.
In a huff, Naruto continues walking, before his foot catches on something, causing him to fall forwards.
A door! Naruto realises, landing on both feet, caught off-guard that he had ambled into it aimlessly as well as the fact that his shoes were not wet.
He had landed on solid ground. Looking up to the door, he observes it, and more specifically, the finer details.
It's a circular door, with three lines splitting it into thirds that connect at a smaller circle within the centre of the method of entry.
Within the centre of the circle is the kanji for 'identification', which glows eerily in the dark.
A massive rumbling sound akin to that of thunder reverberates throughout the sewers, before the door slides open, revealing infinite darkness.
It's my mind. Nothing can harm me, here, Naruto thinks, stepping through the door.
Looking down, he should be falling. Everything around him is a black that stretches for who knows how long?
He continues walking on air; solid ground evading him as the suspense builds just as a phenomenon comes into view.
It's an orb that gyrates internally with ethereal energy, but Naruto sees more than that.
This is my chakra.
It is a small sphere on a raised pedestal, an immense power exuding from it that directly juxtaposes the orb's size.
Slowly but surely, invisible brush strokes paint radiant colours that lead off like a spider's web, filling the empty void with streaks of beautiful gradients.
Naruto's vision centres around the sphere. Namely, the colours displayed within it.
Half of it is covered with a holy white, blinding in nature and simply dazzling with the added flecks of gold.
The remaining half is a dark blue that fluctuates alongside the white, symbolising a mutual bond and unrest.
However, a malevolent thickness in the air remains, like a residue full to the brim with hatred, undiluted and a blazing flame out of control.
Looking further, Naruto spies a bright orange colour that surrounds the corners, slim and faint but compressing the other two chakra sources.
Every time it oscillates, a glowing yellow light forces it back like restraint of sorts.
Blacklight? Naruto inquires, unsure of what it is.
"Yes, Naruto?" The dragon responds.
Can you manifest in my mind? Naruto puts his fingers to his chin.
"Of course."
Then why don't you?
"Didn't you listen to what I told you?" the dragon snaps impatiently.
Something about an invitation? Naruto meekly answers.
"Yes," Blacklight replies. "Remember it?"
Probably, Naruto responds mentally before flashing through hand seals. "Embodiment: Blacklight!"
A flash of light blinds his vision as he waits expectantly for the dragon, but is instead, greeted with something that shocks him.
"Yo," 'Blacklight' greets.
Naruto stares at him incredulously. "I thought you were supposed to be a dragon."
"Well, perhaps if you had used the 'Manifest' technique instead of the 'Embodiment' technique, then you'd have gotten your desired result!" Blacklight snaps, stretching his limbs.
He has exotic navy blue hair and wears a scaly piece of armour, with spikes and 'spears' of the blue scales jutting in a seemingly randomised pattern. He has a pale complexion and stunning luminous silver eyes like a celestial body of the night that we all know and looks at positively in contrast to its golden counterpart.
His teeth are like that of an apex predator of the darkness, two fangs jutting out from his upper set of teeth, extending further than the canines that are stuck to his gums.
"Oh," Naruto lamely says. "Well, take a look at this!"
He gestures frantically to the red substance. The chakra orb is like a pie chart.
Blacklight takes a closer look.
"What is it?" The younger boy by millennia asks hyperactively, hoping for some answers.
He is sorely dissatisfied.
"I don't know. All I can say is that its millennia older than me, that's for certain," Blacklight responds, floored by this fact.
"How will this affect the merging and what shall I do?" Naruto inquires, unsure of what his next course of action would be.
"It will bring the merging to a halt. Meditate," Blacklight states. "Logically, you can find it but you'll have to dedicate time to exploring your mindscape."
Naruto hmms. "Can I make that easier?"
"Likely. Don't ask me how; I don't know," Blacklight answers, disappearing to wherever he had come from.
Naruto stares at the orb. How do I come into contact with this entity?
~~~
Naruto sits in the Tower's library.
A day had passed since he had discovered the conflict within his own energies and already he had attempted an exploration all to no avail.
What am I missing? He asks himself as he flips through a book named 'Oldest Creatures in Legend and Myth'.
Is there something that I'm not aware of?
He reads the table of contents, writing all the possibilities on a sheet of paper to the side. He had been sat at a private cubicle.
So far, he had compiled a relatively short list.
Dragons.
Summoning Creatures.
Giants.
Spirits.
Demons.
Angels.
Thus far, his chances seem slim. The only realistic ones would be the dragons and summons, though demons and ghouls are other possibilities.
Depressed, he takes the next book of the mounting stack and begins to peruse it, shadow clones aiding him but frustratedly throwing down their books with the same result as he.
"Jinchuuriki," he reads. "The Art of Human Sacrifice."
He is sceptical. "What, is this a ritualistic cult-made book?"
Nevertheless, he opens it to the first page, an overview.
Throughout the book, his intrigue accumulates, soaring higher and higher until he is giddy with this newfound revelation.
Mom was a jinchuuriki! And... and... the Kyuubi attacked the village on my birthday! He recalls from the text, which had disclosed a list of past and present human sacrifices, though sadly, it had been written on the year before Naruto's birth.
The villagers absolutely loathed me... and they all called me the...
Naruto's eyes widen with self-realisation. The Demon Fox!
Tears brimmed his eyes at what this means. All this time...
The drops of sorrow drip down onto the leather cover of the book. All this time, I've been hated because of something I couldn't control?
He whimpers fretfully. Blamed for the demon's actions?
Despair like a dark abyss swirl around him in incomparable amounts that manifests in a dark, red aura.
Why do I even try to protect the village? WHY? He roars in his mind, infuriated beyond belief at the petulance of the community he had promised to cherish and love.
A booming voice in his head responds to the rhetorical question. "You know you don't want to," it growls in an enticing yet malicious manner.
What do I do at this point? Naruto breaks down, rushing back to his room, ignoring every pair of eyes that stares at him curiously.
They are prying eyes. They are nothing but trouble, Naruto scathingly thinks.
"Don't give into the hatred," Naruto continuously mutters almost reverently as he repeats it over and over again, slumping on his bed.
"Why?" the booming voice growls, almost confused but then again, you can't tell.
"Why what?" Naruto murmurs, interpreting the voice's identity as that of his mentor and companion.
"Why do you still resist hatred?" The voice clarifies, making Naruto go silent.
The voice recedes into his head, as Naruto ponders.
Spot on. Why don't I? The temptation is... So alluring, he mentally slurs, incapable of making correct deductions.
But, but I have people who love me here, he resonates. I can't let them down.
It's a battle between the vulnerable and the resilient side of Naruto, neither giving in which is most unlike the former of the personalities.
This hatred will be justified, Negative Naruto insists. Look at what this cesspool has done to us.
Justification is in the eye of the biased, Positive Naruto counters. Our bonds have made us strong, have they not?
How so? Negative Naruto amusedly asks, not seeing the point.
If we hadn't had the bond with Jiji, then how would we have received our inheritance? Our possessions? Our monetary assets? Our clan's legacy? Positive Naruto answers, mentioning the less personal things they have accumulated to appeal to his counterpart.
We would have gotten them elsewhere! Negative Naruto fumes furiously. What is your game?
I don't have a game, is the following response that Positive Naruto states simply. This is my life, and I'm willing to accept you if you give me the chance.
Why should I? The negative side of Naruto scathingly says. What use am I of to you? Am I a slave? A minion to you?
The positive personality of Naruto's gaze softens, as does his tone. You remind me of Haku.
The negativity raises his voice. You would dare compare me to such a lowly being? A mere submissive peon?
The positivity's gaze hardens like a block of ice, though his tone doesn't show it.
Haku was someone that many should idolise. Her heart was in the right place and she is the most unique person I've met, the more honourable side says evenly, before ploughing onto further his motives. You aren't a slave, tool nor minion to be. You are my equal. Yes, our perspectives clash but if I die, you die so suck up your pride and merge with me!
A moment of silence glances Naruto's mind as his negative side that had taken over contemplates on what his counterpart had just said and offered.
Perhaps a little context would be prudent.
Naruto's "negative side" is not more detrimental, rather, more emotional. It just so happens to be more susceptible to emotion, and when it takes over Naruto cannot reign in the beast without the honourable one stepping in.
As a result of the side's vulnerability, he is often prone to fits of negative emotion.
The honourable side is the least confrontational but understands when he must step in.
He understands the balance between natures but can't bring himself to force upon himself bloodlust. He doesn't know to fight without restraint, and he makes him less willing to take risks, especially when it is most needed.
He hopes that a possible collaboration with his darker component will be better for the future, especially with the merging with Blacklight on the horizon.
A valid point, the emotional side admits. What do I get out of this partnership?
The honour-bound persona smiles warmly, before speaking with the same tone that resonates within his polar opposite. Power. Mutual power that we split. We need to protect Naruto, for we are him. Together, we unleash his potential and unless we do so, we may just reincarnate into a new host, and Kami forbid a more unfortunate soul to host us.
Then I accept.
Such seemingly insignificant words spark a much larger effect.
A binding contract behind the cooperation of two primaeval constants that shape and raze entire nations.
The influences of emotion and commitment. Things that spark discord amongst crowds and mistrust, but also, when used correctly, are for the betterment of the most considerate of people.
A glow surrounds Naruto who had fallen asleep from the turmoil that had besieged his mental defences.
A grey glow surrounds Naruto, signalling the union of two misguided personas that form Naruto.
It's a massive juxtaposition to the achromatic, morose colour that many associates with depression and loss, both of which shake the world of those it infects with its contagious famine.
To the contrary, it is bewilderingly striking.
The grey chakra manifests in a protective cloak, like a blanket that wraps around Naruto comfortingly in his sleep, sprouting from his shoulder blades.
Like wings that wrap around him like an angel, subconsciously providing him warmth that is more than welcome.
They are a steely grey that fades to black, devoid of light, at the tip and does the same with a blinding white that reflects it at the base.
His clothing is carpeted in ambiguous energy of the same grey-white-black gradient, stopping at his head but enveloping everything else.
It bubbles lightly, parts of the chakra reverting to their pure state, energy, instead of the densified form they had taken on.
After a short period of time with which all of the chakras had evaporated into the surrounding room, Naruto's skin glows ominously, before it recedes to show his new look.
Draped around his shoulders is a ragged cloak that starts as black and fades to white, the opposite order as to his wings, with the grey remaining in the centre.
The black has thin streaks that appear to be stalactites that extend downwards to the white, which attaches to it utilising semi-circles that signal a great uprising from the depths.
The cloak adjoins with his attire through a chain with a six-pointed star clasp at the centre that allows him to unravel it.
Underneath the cloak is a shirt with red sequins that extends to the centre of the back like vines growing towards the sun, where the red Uzumaki swirl is proudly emblazoned.
His pants are black to match the cloak which would normally hide his torso, numerous pouches there for sealing scrolls that would store the majority of his essentials in bulk, including numerous rations, some weaponry and some spare scrolls.
These are tucked into a pair of boots that stretch up to halfway between his ankle and kneecap.
The boots in question are made of black scales that seem to be that harvested from snakes, but no-one is certain. The soles are lined with jagged shards of metal that pierce the ground.
Naruto breathes a sigh of content, his soul finally one with itself, a ravine penetrating the depths of his personality finally closed with a great tremor.
A miracle could be an ample description of it.